Georgia’s Education Exchange Network Connects 330 Schools

A new high-speed fiber-optic network that will connect schools across Georgia is the first of its kind in the US.

The 3,600-mile network referred to as the Education Exchange is a joint project of the North Georgia Network, Parker FiberNet and ETC Communications. The project will connect more than 330 schools and 250,000 students across the state, offering digital access to textbooks, resources and instructional material through a 10-gigabit connection.

“This network will open up classrooms to the region and to the world in a way we have never seen before,” Belk said. “Within our beta exchange sites, schools in Northeast Georgia have improved administrative services, deployed advanced video streaming projects, and performed real time music collaborations with other schools.”

“Schools will be able to teleconference, share instructional content, even put their phone systems on the internet,” said Jason Smith, VP of Business Development at ETC Communications, which covers schools in the middle of North Georgia. “The speed of this system will allow schools to share information in real time and instantly access stored instructional material, while reducing costs within each school system,” he said.

The program is currently in place in 8 schools, who are using one of the three networks. The technology is up and ready to use in all 30 counties.

“The strength of our communities, our economy, and workforce all starts in our schools,” Belk said, “as a community-owned company, it’s our job to give back and use our resources to better the next generation.”